Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff Writer, is a MMA columnist for ESPN.com and an analyst for “MMA Live”. He has covered MMA for the Las Vegas Sun.
In Washington D.C., a possible superfight between two-time PFL champion Kayla Harrison and Bellator MMA champion Cris Cyborg has long been desired by fans. For the first time, it seems that nothing is preventing it from happening.
Harrison (16-1) is well aware of this fact and expressed her desire for a fight with Cyborg in the PFL in 2024 after her three-round decision victory over Aspen Ladd in her first appearance of 2023. Earlier in the week, the PFL announced its acquisition of Bellator MMA from Paramount, which means that Harrison and Cyborg are both under contract with the same company for the first time in their careers. Harrison wasted no time in calling out Cyborg after her win on Friday night.
“PFL just acquired Bellator,” Harrison said. “I heard there’s a girl in Bellator who thinks she’s a bad b—-. Why don’t we find out?”
Cyborg (27-2), who is scheduled to box professionally in January, responded to the challenge, emphasizing, “I’m a women (sic). Not a girl. Women don’t refer to themselves as b—-. You basic.”
A fight between Harrison and Cyborg would certainly be one of the most compelling in women’s MMA at present. Harrison, a two-time gold medalist in judo, suffered her first defeat to Larissa Pacheco at the end of 2022 but has been dominant in the sport since transitioning in 2018. Cyborg, 38, is one of the most accomplished athletes in women’s MMA and is coming off a first-round Bellator title defense against Cat Zingano in October.
The PFL has stated that it intends to continue operating Bellator as a separate league, but is planning a PFL champion vs. Bellator champion event in early 2024, possibly in February. These plans were evident throughout the evening at the PFL 2023 Championship Finals on Friday, as they pitted many of the champions against each other following their bouts.
In addition to promoting champion vs. champion bouts, the PFL crowned its first two-weight champion in Pacheco (22-5), who claimed her second PFL championship with a unanimous decision over Marina Mokhnatkina (11-4). Pacheco won the 155-pound lightweight title by defeating Harrison in 2022, and added a 145-pound featherweight belt on Friday.
At lightweight, Olivier Aubin-Mercier (21-5) secured a back-to-back title run despite a valiant effort by Clay Collard (24-11). Aubin-Mercier defeated Collard by unanimous decision and could potentially face Bellator champion Usman Nurmagomedov next.
At heavyweight, Renan Ferreira (12-3) pulled off a stunning upset against Denis Goltsov (32-8), knocking out the Russian veteran just 26 seconds into the second round. Ferreira might face Bellator champion Ryan Bader next, or former UFC champ Francis Ngannou.
Russian welterweight Magomed Magomedkerimov (34-6) won his second PFL championship with a guillotine finish against 2022 champion Sadibou Sy (16-6-2) at 1:17 of the third round. He might potentially face newly crowned Bellator champ Jason Jackson.
Light heavyweight Impa Kasanganay (15-3) had an impressive performance in a dominant five-round decision over Josh Silveira (12-2), and he called out Bellator champion Vadim Nemkov and Ngannou.
Peruvian featherweight Jesus Pinedo (23-6-1) delivered a third-round finish over Gabriel Braga (12-1) and will face featherweight king Patricio Pitbull. The fight ended controversially, with referee Fernando Yamasaki calling a TKO stoppage as Braga covered up from strikes along the cage.
